Anyone else experienced this?

[Bob]

Hi all,
On last Sat's rally, Cardiff East, I put four brand new Duracell batteries in my Minelab XTerra 705 and within 5 minutes of detecting on that field with the lumps in the detector switched itself off. I reset it all and tried again. A few minutes later it switched itself off again. I took the batteries out and checked them, they seemed ok. Put them back in and set off again. It switched itself off again and wouldn't restart. The battery pack I'd bought had 8 in so I changed the lot over and the detector worked fine all day. Now the box of the detector went back about a month ago because the bubble buttons had stuck down and I couldn't set anything. They changed the whole fascia. Now I'm worried incase it's not the batteries but the box playing up again. Anyone had the same fault?  Anyone ever had faulty Duracells? I tested them with a volt-meter and they seemed fine. I emailed Duracell for help and all they said in reply was they'd send me a voucher, thanks but it doesn't explain anything
Cheers,
Bob

[Tafflaff (Rob)]

Are the original duracell flat Bob ?  If not try them again. If they're still doing it , its got to be the batts.

[handyman [Alan}]

i have an xterra 50 and i must say that i stopped using duracells as they didn't last as long as [would you believe it], the tesco specials.

[i too had the same issues as described above, with switch on and off]

cheers

[Chef Geoff]

A couple of things spring to mind Bob, the first you have already experienced with the bubble switches on the fascia loosing their spring action. Next is that batteries do have a shelf life and naturally drain, but if you have tested them and they are showing charge then that's not it.
Finally, one thing I have often experienced and did again yesterday is, I had left the machine in the car overnight (same would apply to a shed or cold garage) and as the day warmed condensation forms inside the fascia and shorts the buttons out, turning the machine off. After a couple of hours of turning it back on, the condensation had dissipated and all was well from there on.

[dances with badgers]

my etrac has done this at the beach on night hunts.i thought it was just cos it needed a service.i have give it a good hammering lol

[ysbytymike]

I know this doesn't answer the question but used re-chargeable in my 705 from day one. Re-charge after every hunt and never had a problem.

[Mrs Steptoe]

I have an X Terra 705 and the same thing happened to me on a rally a few weeks ago-new batteries and the machine died after a very short time.Switched off then on,same thing.Tested batteries with a small tester and they all seemed fully charged.Thought I'd have to go home.Last ditch effort,opened my last pack of four(different make) and-hooray! Had a great day's detecting.When I got home I tested those first batteries again and sure enough,two of them were only half strength.I'm not sure if they were Duracell,but I always check the dates on packs now and use Energizer ultimate batteries-last for ages.

[Bob]

@Tafflaff - Don't think they're flat, Rob. They were brand new and when tested with a voltmeter showed to be ok

@Chef Geoff - They were fresh in Geoff. The detector was stored in my spare bedroom and was empty so no condensation

@Mrs Steptoe - That's interesting, exactly the same fault. Perhaps I'll just change brand and see what happens. Good thing with Minelab is they have a 5 year guarantee

Thanks everyone for your input!

[ysbytymike]

Know what you mean about new batts but can get expensive all the time.
These things are massed produced then stored for goodness knows how long and they do have a shelf life.
Even after leaving the factory storage they then sit on retail shelving for again for 'who knows' how much time.
A pack of four batteries can fail due to just one cell causing problems, so unless you have a battery tester with you its difficult to diagnose problems.

Rechargeable batts on the other hand are fresh every time you put them in (provided you've charged them of course).
It was routine to recharge all batteries the day before any event during my photographic career. Just peace of mind and knowing
that is one issue I won't have to worry about.

[Val Beechey]

Well, I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  For those who use AA size,  get some ENELOOP rechargables. if you shop around they're cheap enough. iCell Media on Amazon are a good bet. They're brill and seem to last forever. Check them out.
Also, I've just bought a pack of 12 x 9v Energizer Industrial Long Life for £11.89 free post. That takes some beating. My local shop are selling Duracell for £4.25 each !!!! Rob Dogs.
.

Val

[Bob]

Update:
Just received £8 of vouchers from Proctor & Gamble today as
a token for the batteries failing on last Sat's rally.
Very kind of them but I still don't know the reason why I had
problems, just have to wait and see...

[rjm]

I can't comment as I just re-charge the on board lithiums every 3 sessions! 

In the olden days I always had to carry spare batteries.  I couldn't use rechargeable in my V3
headphones as they needed 1.5v and rechargeables only pushed out 1.2v.

My XLT used to just switch off if it got too hot.

An I always had a spare pack for my Minelab plus kept AA's as a back-up.

Batteries and electronics can be very tempremental. As a rule, you get what you pay for with batteries
and I'm surprised that Duracells have let you down. They're normally one of the better brands.